Bangkok
- Thailand's leading anti-smoking group accused the US ambassador to Bangkok of breaching his country's tobacco policy by
escorting American tobacco executives to a meeting with the Thai health minister.

The
executives went to complain to the minister, Pinij Charusombat, that cigarettes were being unfairly controlled, compared with
other tobacco products like cigars and pipe tobacco which are less restricted, according to news reports Saturday.

The
Thailand Healthy Foundation said ambassador Ralph Boyce broke the US State Department's own directive on Tobacco Policy Abroad
by adding his diplomatic weight to Thursday's meeting.

The
foundation will ask its counterparts in the United States to follow up this alleged breach of anti-smoking protocol, its president
Hatai Chitanondh, told The Nation.

The
US embassy in Bangkok had no immediate comment.

The
US directive issued in 2000 says the US and diplomats abroad will not promote tobacco products or help US businesses promote
them.

'Ambassadors
or embassy staff should not attend or otherwise support receptions, trade promotions or any events? where their attendance
could be construed as United States Government support for the sale or export of tobacco or tobacco products,' the directive
says.

Hatai
said the Thai health minister was also wrong to agree to a meeting that would have been better dealt with by an exchange of
letters.

Philip
Morris, the world's largest tobacco company which was represented at Thursday's meeting, has previously called for fair treatment
from the Thai government on the taxation of manufactured cigarettes and roll-your-own products.

'Currently,
manufactured cigarettes have to pay excise tax at a rate of as high as 79 per cent, while roll-your-own products from native
tobacco are subject to no tax.'

At
least 142 Thais die every day from smoking-related diseases, according to the Thai chapter of the international lobby Action
on Smoking and Health Foundation.

Many
Asian countries are introducing and extending smoking bans, yet the World Health Organisation estimates that 50,000 Asian
youths still take up smoking every day.

Thailand sharply limits cigarette sales, advertising and permitted smoking areas, but a population
of 64 million has 9.6 million smokers. Some 39 per cent of Thai males aged 15 or more smoke, down from 60 per cent 20 years
ago.

The country's
leading anti-tobacco body said Friday that US
Ambassador to Thailand Ralph Boyce had breached the US State Department Directive on Tobacco Policy Abroad by leading a group
of giant tobacco producers to meet with Public Health Minister Pinij Charusombat on Thursday.

The group, which included
US giant Philip Morris (Thailand),
complained to the minister about unequal controls on all forms of tobacco products with cigar and pipe tobacco being less
restricted that cigarettes.

"I will ask my colleagues in the US
to follow up on the matter," said Hatai Chitanondh, president of the Thailand Health Foundation, the kingdom's leading anti-tobacco
group.

The US directive, issued on January 2000 and shown to The Nation by Hatai, states that the general policy is
that "… the US government will not promote the sale or export of tobacco or tobacco products or seek the reduction or
removal by any foreign country of nondiscriminatory restrictions on the marketing of tobacco or tobacco products".

The
guidelines of the directive also state that "[Diplomatic] posts should not promote the sale or export of tobacco or tobacco
products, and should not assist the efforts of US firms or individuals to do so.

The Nation

-------------------------------------

Bangkok Post, August 26, 2006,

US envoy under fire after meeting Phinij

Ambassador 'supports alcohol, tobacco firms'

The National Health Foundation (NHF) yesterday denounced the US ambassador to Thailand and US alcohol and tobacco companies for calling for a revision
of the Public Health Ministry's liquor and tobacco advertisement control act. The move came after Ambassador Ralph Boyce led
representatives of the US-Asean Business Council, tobacco manufacturer Philip Morris, alcohol firms Diageo and Riche Monde,
and pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly in a meeting with caretaker Public Health Minister Phinij Jarusombat and senior officials
of the Disease Control Department and the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday.

Hatai Chitanondh, president of the Health Promotion Institute under the
NHF, said in a statement that the move reflected Mr Boyce's strong support for the liquor and tobacco industries, despite
the US government's policy instructing
US embassies worldwide to refrain from supporting liquor and tobacco businesses. [ed. I hope this is the case. It is unconscionable
for the ambassador of a civilized country to represent tobacco interests to the 3rd world.]

Dr Hatai said Public Health officials should not negotiate with the companies
because their businesses will never benefit the public. He said he would coordinate with health advocates in the US to keep a close watch on Mr Boyce's actions involving the
support of liquor and tobacco companies.

''The negotiation marks the first step for both the US and the Thai sides to work together. Hopefully we will have more opportunities
in the future,'' Mr Boyce said after the meeting, which was held for the first time in 15 years.

Mr Phinij said the meeting mainly focused on bilateral cooperation in which
the Americans called for help ''to strengthen alcohol and tobacco businesses in Thailand''.

A ban on alcohol and tobacco advertisements seemed to be the main trade
barrier in the US' point of view. It also
asked the ministry to ensure fair treatment as cigar producers were not facing the same controls, according to Mr Phinij.

Unlike cigars, the ministry employs strict controls on cigarette producers
by imposing high taxes and requiring the manufacturers to print health warning labels on cigarette packets.

The advertisement of liquor products is allowed on television only after
10pm.

Watchara Panchet, assistant to the public health minister, said it was necessary
to take the US proposals into account for the benefit of Thai entrepreneurs
in the US.

However, the ministry did not make any commitments during the closed-door
meeting, he said.

Narong Sahamethapat, deputy director-general of the Disease Control Department,
said the authority would continue to discourage alcohol and tobacco consumption in the country.

He said tobacco manufacturers would soon be required to label the hazardous
chemical contents of cigarettes that could cause cancer.

A regulation to ban the use of the terms ''light'' and ''mild'' on cigarette
packets, which have misled people into believing that some brands were less harmful to health than regular brands, will come
into effect in October.

The new regulation would also cover cigars and tobacco leaves, he said.

-----------------------------

Realthailand

US Ambassador Ralph Boyce lobbies for more free trade in American cigarettes to Thailand

This is really sad and disappointing. Up until now, Ralph Boyce was one of the more respected members of the foreign diplomatic
establishment in Bangkok. An affable and charismatic guy who learned to speak near fluent Thai in advance of his posting,
he was the darling of the Thai media and an excellent spokesperson for US interests in Thailand. How he could rationalize
lobbying the Thai government to relax it's smoking cessation measures on behalf of US tobacco firms, is beyond me. Totally despicable and immoral.

This also comes at a time of political turmoil, as Prime Minister Thaksin
is widely seen as selling out the country for foreign interests, in particular the US , vis
a vis the recently proposed US-Thai Free Trade Agreement. This finally gives the anti-US and anti-FTA contingent a
really excellent case in point to work with.

US envoy under fire after meeting Phinij

Ambassador 'supports
alcohol, tobacco firms'

The National Health Foundation (NHF) yesterday denounced the US ambassador to Thailand
and US alcohol and tobacco companies for calling for a revision of the Public Health Ministry's liquor and tobacco advertisement
control act. The move came after Ambassador Ralph Boyce led representatives of the US-Asean Business Council, tobacco manufacturer
Philip Morris, alcohol firms Diageo and Riche Monde, and pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly in a meeting with caretaker Public
Health Minister Phinij Jarusombat and senior officials of the Disease Control Department and the Food and Drug Administration
on Thursday.

Hatai Chitanondh, president of the Health Promotion Institute under the NHF, said in a statement that
the move reflected Mr Boyce's strong support for the liquor and tobacco industries, despite the US
government's policy instructing US embassies worldwide to refrain from supporting liquor and tobacco businesses. [ed. I hope
this is the case. It is unconscionable for the ambassador of a civilized country to represent tobacco interests to the 3rd
world.]

Dr Hatai said Public Health officials should not negotiate with the companies because their businesses will
never benefit the public. He said he would coordinate with health advocates in the US to keep a close watch on Mr Boyce's actions involving the support of liquor
and tobacco companies.

''The negotiation marks the first step for both the US and the Thai sides to work together. Hopefully we will have more opportunities
in the future,'' Mr Boyce said after the meeting, which was held for the first time in 15 years.

Mr Phinij said the
meeting mainly focused on bilateral cooperation in which the Americans called for help ''to strengthen alcohol and tobacco
businesses in Thailand''.

A ban
on alcohol and tobacco advertisements seemed to be the main trade barrier in the US' point of view. It also asked the ministry to ensure fair treatment as cigar
producers were not facing the same controls, according to Mr Phinij.

Unlike cigars, the ministry employs strict controls
on cigarette producers by imposing high taxes and requiring the manufacturers to print health warning labels on cigarette
packets.

The advertisement of liquor products is allowed on television only after 10pm.

Watchara Panchet, assistant
to the public health minister, said it was necessary to take the US proposals
into account for the benefit of Thai entrepreneurs in the US.

However,
the ministry did not make any commitments during the closed-door meeting, he said.

Narong Sahamethapat, deputy director-general
of the Disease Control Department, said the authority would continue to discourage alcohol and tobacco consumption in the
country.

He said tobacco manufacturers would soon be required to label the hazardous chemical contents of cigarettes
that could cause cancer.

A regulation to ban the use of the terms ''light'' and ''mild'' on cigarette packets, which
have misled people into believing that some brands were less harmful to health than regular brands, will come into effect
in October.

The new regulation would also cover cigars and tobacco leaves, he said.

When US Ambassador to Thailand Ralph "Skip" Boyce led a peeved delegation
of US companies - including Marlboro and big alcohol producers - to lodge their complaints with the Public Health Ministry
about a national ban on cigarette advertisements and a pending one on liquor promotions, US commercial diplomacy toward Southeast
Asia hit a new nadir.

If it seems odd that a senior US envoy would
so publicly play therole of US corporate
spokesman, that's because historically it is. But Boyce, a career diplomat who speaks fluent Thai and often portrays himself
as a friend to the country, has perhaps more than any other senior US diplomat in Southeast Asia pushed forcefully President
George W Bush's many controversial policies in the region - regardless of the moral consequences.

After September
11, 2001, Boyce was Washington's point man in chastising Indonesia's government for not taking more seriously the "war on terror" in the
region. Now, Boyce is the highly visible spokesman for Washington's new drive to reshape
its commercial relations with Southeast Asia more to the United States'
advantage, partly through lopsided free-trade agreements (FTAs) and partly through good old-fashioned bullying - as demonstrated
through Boyce's lobbying effort at Thailand's
Health Ministry.

Seasoned Southeast Asia observers now realize how tragically the United States' clandestine counter-terrorism campaign has played out across the
region, giving new, US-backed life to the anti-democratic tendencies that many countries had tried to bury with their recent
authoritarian pasts. Governments in Indonesia, Malaysia
and Thailand have all created their own dirty little versions of GuantanamoBay, detaining unknown numbers of terror suspects
to satisfy Washington's demands.

What has gone less
noticed, but with potentially far wider consequences for Southeast Asia's future prosperity, is the hard new turn in Washington's commercial diplomacy toward the region.

The US had first packaged its current drive to broker FTAs in Southeast Asia
as economic rewards for governments' cooperation with its counter-terrorism policies. Singapore
and Australia, both staunch supporters
of US counter-terrorism policies, were first in line to receive bilateral trade pacts. Thailand, which serves as the Central Intelligence Agency's secret regional hub
for counter-terrorism logistics and operations, was logically next. And now that Malaysia
and Indonesia have detained, from Washington's
perspective, a sufficient number of suspected Muslim militants, they too have recently been invited to join the bilateral
club.

Throughout the Cold War, the US was eager to help capitalism
take root in Southeast Asia as a bulwark against communism's spread - and provided generous aid and market access to budding
capitalist countries such as Thailand and Indonesia. Nowadays, Washington's
FTA drive is often framed as a parallel but more efficient free-trade track than the World Trade Organization's stuttering
multilateral course.

The reality, however, is that the US
prefers the leverage of one-on-one negotiations with the region's small, export-dependent countries, which, at least historically,
have relied hugely on US consumer markets for their economic growth. But as the United
States' demands become more apparent at closed-door FTA negotiations, regional governments
are starting to realize that the FTAs on offer are not so much economic rewards as do-or-die propositions.

Reward
cum punishment

Washington's current drive to renegotiate its terms
of trade with Southeast Asia is, at least in part, symptomatic of its growing desperation
in an increasingly competitive global economy driven by lower-cost Asian producers. That's evident by the United States' attempts to impose strict new intellectual-property-protection
measures through bilateral pacts. Such measures would never pass muster at the WTO, but would provide substantial competitive
padding for US pharmaceutical and media companies.

The United States'
bilateral drive in the region also comes at a time when its own free-trade credentials are very much in doubt. The terror-obsessed
US Congress moved to block China's proposed acquisition of US oil company Unocal last year on spurious national-security
grounds. The same flimsy rationale was used to block a United Arab Emirates-based port operator from winning management deals
for US ports. At the same time, the US
is pushing through FTAs to gain greater access to sensitive Southeast Asian industries, including telecoms and energy.

In
short, Washington is bidding to impose its more legalistic version of capitalism on Southeast
Asia's more free-wheeling economies, which many US
businesses, with their comparatively bloated costs and without preferential treatment, have difficulty competing with. And
if the Bush administration can't have its way at the negotiating table, it's willing to resort to bullying.

Three
months ago Asia Times Online first reported, and the mainstream media later followed up, that senior US officials pressured
the World Health Organization to remove its representative to Thailand after the UN official publicly called into question
the adverse impacts a US-Thai FTA would have on Thailand's public health (World health: A lethal dose of US politics, June 17). The WHO official had noted
that the stricter intellectual-property-protection measures in the pact would inevitably lead to higher drug prices and jeopardize
hundreds of thousands of Thais, including a large number of the country's 600,000 citizens with the AIDS virus who depend
on locally produced cheap generic medicines to survive.

US-Thai FTA negotiations, which Washington had hoped would serve as a model for other regional pacts, have recently stalled
in the wake of a grinding political conflict, allowing Thai trade officials valuable time to assess the merits and demerits
of a potential trade deal. Washington has threatened to make Thailand pay for the delay by suspending the country's GSP (Generalized
System of Preferences) privileges, a move that Thai trade groups estimate would cost the country a million jobs through lost
exports. Indonesia faces a similar US threat.

As the US
flexes its economic muscles, it is prime time that Southeast Asian governments ask themselves whether further integration
with the US economy on the proposed terms
is truly in their respective national interests. America's hard trade stand
also presents a golden opportunity for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to wade into the fray and through
its collective numbers enhance its member states' negotiating leverage vis-a-vis the US.

Southeast Asian policymakers should bear in mind that very soon the
US may not be as attractive a destination
for their products as in the past. Collapsing housing prices and spiraling consumer and national debt levels promise to dry
up America's once insatiable appetite
for consumer goods. Rather, regional governments would be wise to expend their trade energies in forging closer ties with
less demanding, higher-growth-potential China, India
and petrodollar-rich Middle Eastern regimes, and less on deliberating unequal pacts with the US.

That way, when the likes of Ralph Boyce come knocking with US corporate
demands, it will be that much easier for Southeast Asian governments to keep the door shut.